Joe Kessinger is a seasoned business advisor and financier with over 40 years of experience in business development, corporate value enhancement, family business transitions, corporate finance, and mergers and acquisitions. Drawing on a distinguished career as a CPA, investor, business owner, and consultant, Joe has provided strategic guidance across a broad spectrum of industries and growth stages.
His professional background includes tenures at two of the Big Four accounting firms—KPMG and Ernst & Young—as well as leadership roles in managing venture capital and private equity portfolios. Joe has advised family offices and has personally founded, owned, operated, and sold multiple companies, including an electronics manufacturing business and a medical device manufacturer.
Currently, Joe serves as Executive Vice President of The DeBruce Companies, a private family office holding company, and as CEO of one of its portfolio companies, HCI Energy, LLC. He is also the Managing Partner of Collaborative Capital and serves as the Kansas City Chair for TIGER 21, a premier peer network for high-net-worth entrepreneurs and investors. Joe is a member of the advisory boards for five privately held businesses.
A pioneer in regional entrepreneurship, Joe was the founding member of the Bi-State Investment Group, Kansas City’s first angel investment fund. He co-founded Collaborative Capital and the Kansas Women’s Business Center and played key roles in launching KC Catalyst and KC SourceLink. He also founded and continues to lead the Kansas City chapter of TIGER 21. His civic involvement includes board service with a range of charitable organizations, including the St. Michael’s Veterans Center.
Joe holds a BSBA in Accountancy from the University of Missouri and is a graduate of the Centurions Leadership Program and the Center for Creative Leadership. A recognized expert in business turnarounds and financing, he has been instrumental in the launch of hundreds of ventures and millions of financing and is a frequent speaker and author on topics such as entrepreneurial finance and exit planning.